« Greetings from London | Main | All You Need to Know about Web 2.0 »

May 28, 2007

Veni, Creator Spiritus

"Human pride and egoism always create divisions, build walls of indifference, hate, and violence. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, makes hearts capable of understanding the languages of all, as He reestablishes the bridge of authentic communion between earth and heaven. The Holy Spirit is Love." Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on Pentecost Sunday, 4 June 2006.

Unlike the early Christian Pasch which celebrated Christ's passion on a particular day annually, Pentecost emerged primarily as a season commemorating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Tertullian called Pentecost "a most joyous space for Baptisms" (On Baptism 19.2). The season of Pentecost - which the new Roman Calendar has abolished completely - was viewed as a perpetuation of Easter's joy, culminating as a feast day sometime after the fifth century.

And, unlike the earlier christological debates, it was not clear until the latter part of the fourth century that the Holy Spirit should deserve considered theological reflection. Due in large part to the work of the Cappadocian Fathers, the full divinity of the Holy Spirit emerged as the "Lord, the Giver of Life." As St Gregory Nazianzen reflects, "Theology reaches maturity by additions." It is only now in the time of the church, when "the Spirit has taken up residence among us, does he give us a clearer manifestation of Himself" (Oration 31.26). And Gregory did not have to look far for the Holy Spirit's home in the church. One of the earliest prayers of the church's liturgy is the anaphora, where the celebrant would ask that the Holy Spirit descend upon the bread and the wine of the Eucharist.

Yet Gregory and other champions of the Holy Spirit, such as St Augustine, could also begin their consideration of the Spirit in Scripture. After all, in Galatians 4:4 St Paul states there were two sendings: "But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba Father!'" In his treatise De Trinitate, Augustine goes beyond the language of "poured out" and "given"(Acts 2) to suggest that the Holy Spirit is the bond of love between God and man. Just as the Holy Spirit is the communion between Father and Son, the sending of the Holy Spirit reveals the love of the Son in man (Romans 5:5).

We come back to the Pope's assertion that the Spirit is Love. Fully divine, proceeding from the Godhead, the Spirit completes Christ's compassionate mission here on Earth until He returns in glory. Robert Louis Wilken captures this well: "Love unites Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, love brings God into relation with the world, and by love human beings cleave to God."

Posted by Seth Zirkle at May 28, 2007 10:40 AM

Comments

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Security Code:



Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)